![]() During a tour stop in Nashville around that time, Earl Scruggs and his family came backstage to say hello. Bojangles,” a folksy Top 10 pop hit that remains a staple of their live show. ![]() Their career breakthrough came in 1970 with the release of the record Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy and the single “Mr. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played their first gig in 1966 in Southern California as a jug band and by 1969 had become a cornerstone of the burgeoning country-rock community. That’s important for a band that’s been out there for over 53 years.” It’s opened a lot of doors for us, musically, and the morale is really great. And they’re encouraging us in the same way to take more chances. The basic vibe is so up and positive, and the music– we’re hearing surprises from Jaime and Ross all night. All of a sudden, the old dogs start playing, you know? That’s kind of what’s happened with us. Jeff Hanna says, “It’s like when you throw a couple of puppies into a pen with a bunch of old dogs. And with the father-son pairing of Jeff and Jaime Hanna, the band carries on a country music tradition of blood harmony. All six members also sing, and when their voices merge, the harmonies add a powerful new component for the legendary band. The group now includes Jeff Hanna (acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Jimmie Fadden (drums, harmonica), Bob Carpenter (keyboards), Jim Photoglo (bass, acoustic guitar), Ross Holmes (fiddle, mandolin), and Jaime Hanna (electric and acoustic guitar). For legions of fans, it’s less about the memories than the moment, crisp as an Autumn apple and rich as a royal flush.With a refreshed lineup and newfound energy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the most accomplished bands in American roots music.įollowing an extended 50th anniversary tour, the ensemble grew to a six-piece in 2018 for the first time since their early jug band days. Produced by Ray Kennedy and Jeff Hanna, it’s a remarkable ride through some of the most impactful songs of the past century, penned by Bob Dylan and taken for a blue highway spin by a great American band, with help from genius-level contemporary artists like Jason Isbell and The War and Treaty.Ī Dirt Band show is unlike any other. Those veterans are now joined by singer-songwriter-bass man Jim Photoglo, fiddle and mandolin wizard Ross Holmes, and Hanna’s son, the preternaturally talented singer and guitarist Jaime Hanna.īlood harmony, thrilling instrumental flights, undeniable stage chemistry … these things are part of each Dirt Band show, just as they are part of Dirt Does Dylan, the first recording from the reconfigured, six-strong group. Today’s group consists of founding member Jeff Hanna, harp master Jimmie Fadden (who joined in 1966), and soulful-voiced Bob Carpenter, who has more than 40 years of service in the ensemble. ![]() The latest Dirt Band lineup is expanded to six members for the first time since 1968. Throughout the group’s lifetime, personnel has changed, with each change resulting in positive steps forward, new ways of playing the old songs, and renewed enthusiasm for writing and recording fresh material. Circle III was released in 2003, featuring collaborations with Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and more. Circle II also won the Country Music Association’s Album of the Year prize. 1989 brought a second Circle album, this one featuring singer-songwriter talents including John Prine, Rosanne Cash, and John Hiatt and garnering two Grammy awards for the band (it later won another, for a collaboration with Earl Scruggs and other fine folks). In the 1980s, the Dirt Band reeled off 15 straight Top 10 country hits, including chart-toppers “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark (co-written by Jim Photoglo, who would join the band in the second decade of the new century). Was this a cutting-edge combo or a group of revivalists? Was the goal rebellion or musical piety? Yes, to all these things. Behind those doors were Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Mother Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, and others who would collaborate on a multi-artist, multi-generational, three-disc 1972 masterpiece: Will the Circle Be Unbroken went triple Platinum, spawned two later volumes, and wound up in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Bojangles,” which, along with insistent support from banjo master Earl Scruggs, opened doors in Nashville. The group formed in 1966 as a Long Beach, California jug band, scored its first charting single in 1967, and embarked on a self-propelled ride through folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll, pop, bluegrass, and the amalgam now known as “Americana.” The first major hit came in 1971 with the epic “Mr. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band trades on a mix of reimagined classics and compelling newer works. Many veteran bands trade on nostalgia, on replication of past glories, and on recycled emotions from younger, more carefree days.
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